


the mingling of souls

by TheTinyTortoise



Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, The Society (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Daemon Touching, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 03:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19099246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTinyTortoise/pseuds/TheTinyTortoise
Summary: “Marry me,” Luke blurts out.Clytemnestro nearly tumbles off of his perch on Luke’s knee. “What?” He chokes.(Or.....Luke’s proposal to Helena in a world with daemons)





	the mingling of souls

When Helena reaches for Luke in the middle of the night, she keeps reaching on. Clytemnestro, nestled up against her neck in a small, fuzzy ball, lets out a sleepy, confused sound as he comes awake.

“Markonia?” The bat daemon mumbles.

Helena pushes herself up onto one elbow, and she sees Luke. He’s sitting on the floor and leaning up against the foot of their bed. His head is in his hands. 

“What are you doing?” She whispers, blinking sleep out of her eyes.

Luke’s hands clench where they’re knotted in his hair. “I think it was my gun,” he mutters.

“What?” Helena demands, still half-asleep and confused. She pushes herself upright, Clytemnestro’s nails digging into her skin as he clings to her so he doesn’t tumble onto the pillow. 

“I killed him,” Luke says. His voice breaks as he speaks, and Helena can hear Markonia whimpering. 

“You don’t know that,” she replies.

“No,” Luke bites out with a tiny shake of his head. “I think so.”

Helena kicks back the covers and climbs down the bed to where Luke is hunched. Markonia is lying next to him, curled in on herself as if she’s trying to disappear. Clytemnestro crawls across the carpet to her, burrowing between her two front paws and bumping his tiny nose up against her own larger one.

Helena slides her arms around Luke, kissing his shoulder once, twice. “Baby,” she whispers. 

“How could we do that to him?” She hears Markonia gasp out to Clytemnestro. “We had second period biology with him and Judanne. We went to his fucking birthday party when we were kids once.”

“You had no choice,” Clytemnestro murmurs back urgently. 

“You did what you had to do,” Helena adds to Luke.

“No, we had a choice,” Markonia barks, golden tail thumping harshly against the carpet. Luke fists a hand in her thick coat. “You said we shouldn’t do it,” he bites out to Helena.

Helena sighs. “I know, but-“

Markonia sits up with a suddenness that makes Clytemnestro squeak with surprise. “Do you hate us for it?” She demands directly of Helena. Helena is at a loss for a moment. It’s not as if Markonia’s never spoken to her, or she to Markonia, but it’s still a very intimate thing. She doesn’t even recall seeing her parents’ daemons speaking to their person’s partner more than a handful of times. 

“No,” Helena whispers back. “I love you. Both of you.” 

“You’re not just saying that, right?” Luke asks. There’s something very delicate in his voice, and that fragility is mirrored in Markonia’s mournful eyes.

Helena shakes her head. “No,” she insists. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Clytemnestro move, but she has no idea what he’s doing until Luke lets out a gasp. They both watch, wide-eyed, as Clytemnestro crawls onto his knee. He’s only inches away from Luke’s bare hands; it would be oh so easy for Luke to reach out and touch him. Clytemnestro’s wings are trembling, but there’s nothing but surety in his bright black eyes as he watches Luke’s reaction. Helena can feel the same sentiment burning bright in her own breast.

Markonia leaps to her paws and comes over to Helena’s side. She doesn’t touch her, not quite, but she comes so close Helena can feel the warmth of her body.

“Marry me,” Luke blurts out.

Clytemnestro nearly tumbles off of his perch on Luke’s knee. “What?” He chokes.

“We want to marry you,” Markonia repeats. She nudges at Helena’s shoulder gently, nose cold through the thin fabric of Helena’s shirt. “Will you marry us?”

“What does that even mean?” Helena cries. A nervous laugh skitters out of her throat. She reaches for Clytemnestro, desperate to feel the soothing texture of his fur beneath her fingertips.

Luke shakes his head. “I don’t know. I don’t have any fucking idea. Everything’s so fucked up right now. I just-I don’t want to be alone. Not for a single second. I just want to be with you.”

“You’re the only thing that makes sense right now,” Markonia whispers.

Luke watches Helena’s expression closely, leaning into the touch of her hand as she slides her fingers through his hair.  


“You’re-you’re not going to say no, are you?” He stammers.

Helena lets out a hiccup of a laugh and closes the distance between them, kissing him fervently. 

“No, we’re not going to say no,” Clytemnestro says for her. “We’ve always wanted to marry you, whatever that means.”

Markonia lets out a whine of relief. “We love you so fucking much,” she says, burying her golden face in Luke’s thigh and letting Clytemnestro snuggle up against her.

Helena twines her arms around Luke’s neck and kisses him more deeply. He puts one hand down, intending to steady himself against Markonia. However, the fur that his fingers encounter is shorter and fuzzier than Markonia’s sleek golden coat.

Luke gasps and yanks his hand away. “Oh, shit, babe,” he blurts. “I didn’t mean to-“

“No,” Helena says, dropping a light kiss on his lips. There’s a pink flush high on her cheeks. “It’s ok. I want you to.”

Luke smooths a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Are you sure?” He asks, glancing between her and Clytemnestro.

Helena nods and smiles. “We want you to,” Clytemnestro adds.

Holding his breath, Luke reaches towards the small bat. He glances at Helena again, and she gives him another nod. With one reverent finger, hardly believing he’s allowed, he traces along the delicate edge of one of Clytemnestro’s wings. 

Helena gasps, but it’s not just Luke’s touch on her soul that sparks her cry. Slowly, carefully, Markonia rests her head on Helena’s bare thigh. 

Neither Helena nor Luke get back to sleep that night, but it’s no longer thoughts of Dewey keeping them awake

**Author's Note:**

> Helena’s daemon, Clytemnestro, is a common vampire bat. He looks something like this: https://www.joelsartore.com/ani014-00045/
> 
> Luke’s daemon, Markonia, is a Golden retriever. She looks something like this: http://www.vetstreet.com/dogs/golden-retriever


End file.
